The Montreal Canadiens have made a change on Martin St. Louis’s coaching staff with Derek Lalonde replacing Trevor Letowski, according to multiple reports.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reported Letowski chose to step away from the organization “to have more time with his family,” and that it’s the team’s desire to keep Letowski in the organization.
The Montreal Canadiens are hiring Derek Lalonde to join their coaching staff as an assistant. He will be replacing Trevor Letowski, who’s decided to step off the bench to have more time with his family. It’s the Canadiens’ desire to keep Letowski in the organization.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) July 8, 2026
Letowski had been a member of Canadiens’ coaching staff since the 2021-22 season under Dominique Ducharme and remained an assistant under St. Louis since he replaced Ducharme in February 2022.
Letowski had been a coach in the OHL for the previous 10 seasons before joining the Habs, the last three as head coach of the Windsor Spitfires.
Derek Lalonde was the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings for parts of three seasons from 2022 to 2024. Prior to that, the native of Upstate New York won two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 (over the Canadiens) as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Last season, Lalonde was an assistant coach under Craig Berube on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The move comes one day after the Maple Leafs announced that he would not return for the 2026-27 season under new head coach Jim Hiller.